Bluetooth

Q: Do I need to get an extra Bluetooth dongle for PC? I already have build-in Bluetooth on my notebook.

A: Well, it really depends. The compatiblity of Bluetooth is really a pain. You can check to see what kind of Bluetooth software your computer is running. If it is IVT or Widcomm, then the chance it will work is pretty high since I have tested both. But if it is Toshiba's Bluetooth software, then it will not work.

Q: My computer is running Widcomm Bluetooth software, so I don't need to get an extra Bluetooth dongle?

A: Well, still can not promise. But you may try to see if it will work. Or if you don't want to have bad out-of-box experience and you don't mind spending extra dolloars, I strongly suggest you purchase the Bluetooth dongle that I provide.

Q: Well I am pissed, are you selling the extra Bluetooth dongle for profit?

A: Hell no. The Bluetooth dongle I provide is only for convenience and to make a pleasant out-of-box user experience, you don't have to order from me, you can get it from some other places only if you can make sure it runs the same (similar) Bluetooth software, for Widcomm software version 5.5 or IVT version 5.02 are both tested OK.

Q: I don't understand, as far as I understand, Bluetooth is a standardized product, different Bluetooth device can work with each other. Then why iDisk has restriction on which Bluetooth device to work together?

A: This is a very good question and need long explanation. First, Bluetooth is very complex, to write a robust bluetooth software that has professional performance on compatibility requires resources and efforts which are beyond what a hobbist can afford. Second, the limited memory size used on iDisk prohibits it from writing a large code. So to make things simpler with very limited resource and time, iDisk Bluetooth firmware is written mainly to work with IVT and Widcomm's Bluetooth software. However, different version of the software may still have some differences which may make iDisk's Bluetooth non-workable. This is why I also provide a Bluetooth dongle that is tested OK with iDisk.

Q: So what is your suggestion?

A: My suggestion is that if you don't mind spending extra dolloars, you can order the Bluetooth dongle and test iDisk with the build-in Bluetooth on your computer, if it works, then go with it. If it doesn't work, you can then use the Bluetooth dongle you order. One computer can install more than one Bluetooth dongle so you don't have to worry.

Q: Can iDisk Bluetooth work with PC running Linux or Mac?

A: Sorry I don't know! I don't have Linux/Mac to test, so I really don't know at this point.

Q: Can the Bluetooth dongle you provide work on Linux or Mac?

A: Most likely no. You probably need to find Bluetooth dongle with IVT/Widcomm Bluetooth software that work on Linux/Mac .

Q: You said the Bluetooth transfer rate is around 20KBytes/Second. As far as I know the Bluetooth transfer rate should be much higher than this, why?

A: It is because the speed of the CPU, the data you see is tested using very fast CPU (like Intel 2GHz CPU) on PC, iDisk uses 50MHz ARM microcontroller, so the transfer rate is highly limited.

Q: When I tested, I found reading and writing USB flash drive and Disk Drive differs, why?

A: Flash memory read and write speed differs, usually write is slower than read. While reading from/writting to Disk Drive are much faster since static RAM is used.

Q: When iDisk is inquiring, it can not find the Bluetooth device I want, why?

A: First you have to make sure that the Bluetooth device (for example PC) is working properly, and it is set to "be able to be inquired" state. Second, You may have to inquire several times or just use 'Inquire(Long)" to let iDisk search longer in order to find the Bluetooth device. If you still can not get the Bluetooth device you want, restart your PC and iDisk then try again. If it still failed, contact me.

Q: What does 'Refresh' do?

A: When iDisk inquires, it stores the information of the Bluetooth it found (or inquired). The information is stored in BTDEVICE.LST under ROOT directory. So next time when you turn power on, iDisk retrieves the information from BTDEVICE.LST and display on the BT Menu page. If the Bluetooth device you want to connect is on the page, you can simply just connect to it, you don't have to inquire so as to save time. But for some reason (such like too many entries on BT Menu page that make you feel mad), you want the BT Menu page cleared, you can press 'Refresh' to clear it. As for how this process affects the information stored in BTDEVICE.LST depends on if the current directory is Root or not. If it is in Root, pressing 'Refresh' will also clear BTDEVICE.LST. If it is not, BTDEVICE.LST won't be affected.

Q: I can not see the previously inquired Bluetooth device information on BT Menu page

A: You need to be under Root directory to inquire so that the information storing to BTDEVICE.LST can be done.

Q: Why I need to turn off 'Secure Link' for File Transfer?

A: Turn 'Secure Link' off makes writing Bluetooth software for iDisk a little bit simpler since different PC Bluetooth software behave differently when 'Secure Link' is turned on. However, I may make this selection unnecessary in later version, but no promise.

Q: Why I still need to enter Pin Code even when 'Secure Link' has been turned off? And why on some other PC, no pin code is requested?

A: What you oberserved is correct, and you can see how different PC Bluetooth software or even different versions behave differently. For the Bluetooth dongle I provide, it runs IVT bluetooth software version 5.02. For some magical reason unknown to me, it still askes for Pin code. But on other versions of IVT Bluetooth software, it does not ask for Pin code if 'secure link' is turned off. While for the Widcomm software I tested, it does not ask for pin code.

Q: With the Bluetooth dongle you provide, why I only need to enter pin code the first time, then no pin code is needed after that?

A: If you are under Root, the Pin code information is also stored in BTDEVICE.LST, and iDisk will use that for the later connections automatically. So no Pin code is required. The same Pin code information is also stored on your PC Bluetooth software. This is called 'Pairing' and once they have the same Pin code information, they are 'Paired'.

Q: I used to be able to transfer file between iDisk and my Notebook, but starting from yesterday, it failed, what should I do?

A: If this happens, usually it is because the Pin code information stored on iDisk and PC unmatched (for example the Pin code information on PC is deleted for some reasons). In this case, you can press 'Refresh' to clear the memorized information (have to be under Root directory), or simply delete BTDEVICE.LST on File Menu under Root directory. Then you have to unpair on your PC side. You can find an icon showing your iDisk on your PC Bluetooth software, either the icon shows your iDisk Bluetooth address or just 'iDisk'. You can click right mouse key and find the item called 'unpair' or something like that. Or you can just delete that icon. Then you can go over again the process and it should be fine.

Q: What is Bluetooth address? Why some Bluetooth device show numbers and some Bluetooth device show names on my PC?

A: Each Bluetooth device has a unique address to distiguish it from others. The address is 6 bytes hex value like 01:3F:48:3E:5D:6C. This address can not be changed, and you sometimes will see this address on your PC Bluetooth software. You can, however, give a friendly name to your Bluetooth device, such like 'My Lovely iDisk', and this name can be shown on your PC. Unfortunately, different Bluetooth device can have same name, so this name can not be used to distiguish Bluetooth device.

Q: When I tried to transfer file (XXXX.YYY) from my Notebook to iDisk, it failed. What's wrong?

A: You have to rename XXXX.YYY to XXXX .YYY, put extra spaces in the Name to make it 8 characters. Same thing for extention, you have to put spaces to make extention 3 characters.